PORTFOLIO

Big Bear Mountain Resorts

Lee & London team members managed public relations for Big Bear Mountain Resorts (Snow Summit and Bear Mountain) for four seasons. One unique challenge was the shortage of snowfall during those seasons, which were among the driest on record. With a state-of-the-art snowmaking system in place, the challenge became educating the public that man-made snow IS real snow. We started by educating the media and specifically weather reporters by hosting media days early in the season where we offered tours of the snowmaking system.

Another challenge was getting the media to refer to the resorts as the proper name: Big Bear Mountain Resorts, rather than just saying “Big Bear” or “Big Bear Mountain.” We sent each media member a care package at the beginning of each season with a list of “Quick Facts” on the resort as well as snow season, in general. Coupled with our media days, we were able to establish personal relationships with the key reporters so when they did use the wrong name, we’d simply shoot them a quick e-mail to again clarify the proper name.

In addition to ongoing PR for both mountains, our team was tasked with promoting individual events and contests, which totaled over 30 each season. We worked with sponsors like ThirtyTwo, Paul Mitchell, etnies and more to ensure our teams coordinated press coverage to maximize resources. From feature articles, to appearances on broadcast morning news, on average, our team earned secured more than 300 pieces of coverage each season.

Perhaps the best example of our work is that the in-house PR rep for etnies at the time, after working with our team on an event at Bear Mountain, hired us on to promote their eS Game of Skate contest in 12 cities across the U.S.